Property firm on hunt for development opportunities after stellar year
Property development and investment company Sterling Capitol says it is pursuing development opportunities across Yorkshire this year following a strong 2017.
Sterling Capitol sold five major office buildings at Capitol Park in Leeds for £18.225m last summer and then let another office building at the same business park to expanding parcel delivery business Hermes.
The five buildings, comprising a total of 95,913 sq ft, were bought by London-based property investment company Squarestone. The combined rent roll was more than £1.7m a year, reflecting a net initial yield of 8.9%.
Mike Heydecke, director of Sterling Capitol, said: “This major sale of five high-quality buildings was very important for us, as it allowed us to concentrate on future developments at all of our business parks at Leeds, Barnsley and Goole. It is a passport to future success.
“Capitol Park itself, located by Junction 28 of the M62, is a tremendous success story and recent lettings and deals have taken it to the 1,600 jobs target for Phase One. It is one of the brightest stars of the Yorkshire out-of-town business park sector and continues to attract first-class tenants.
“Meanwhile, we are absolutely delighted that Hermes have moved into 1 Sterling Way. They are a very important part of the Capitol Park family and their expansion is a resounding endorsement of Capitol Park Leeds itself.”
Looking ahead to this year, Heydecke said: “This promises to be a very exciting 12 months. We have some extremely significant plans agreed, which will create much-needed business space and jobs in both West and South Yorkshire. We have earmarked specific land at Leeds, Barnsley and Goole for development and are confident we will make major progress in turning these plans into reality this year.”
Elizabeth Ridler of Sterling Capitol’s marketing agents Knight Frank in Leeds added: “Capitol Park has seen a number of deals during the past year, underlining the resilience of the out-of-town investment and occupational market in Yorkshire.
“There has been some uncertainty in the market, but these deals have underlined that there is still a healthy appetite for well-located and attractive properties at Capitol Park.”
